


Strange Company

by Kestrealbird



Series: Campaign [1]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: A lot of background characters - Freeform, Alternate Universe-DND, I Had A Lot Of Fun With This, M/M, More a slight character study than anything, Tiefling!Jack, Zer0 the arcane construct, clearly dating but Rhys doesnt know it, odd relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 07:00:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13735596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kestrealbird/pseuds/Kestrealbird
Summary: Rhys hasn't met a lot of Tieflings, but he knows enough to recognize that Jack isn't normal.





	Strange Company

**Author's Note:**

> I had an idea and decided to run with it. I want to thank [this lovely person](http://thirtysixsavefiles.tumblr.com/) for giving me advice on worldbuilding. Also you should absolutely read their fics because they do amazing Rhack dynamics. 
> 
> Anyway I might do more for this AU I just wanted to get the basic gist of it written down first so I have a basis to work with lmao. This all stemmed from me watching Critical Role, falling in love with Mollymauk and realizing that Jack would make the perfect Tiefling

Rhys has met a lot of people - a lot of races - in his time, and though he’s not an expert on any of them he can still remember certain individuals that stand out in his mind's eye.

Vaughn is an old friend of his, so maybe he’s a little bit biased when he says that Vaughn “stands out” compared to other Dwarves, but he isn’t wrong either. Vaughn is a lot more nervous than the majority of his kin - afraid of his own shadow, even - and where Dwarves will usually work hard labour jobs, Vaughn prefers to sit behind a desk and work the coin, embezzling where he can and saving where he can't. They've known each other for as long as either of them can remember, and Vaughn is usually the person who stops Rhys from running his mouth lest it get him in trouble. As for Rhys, well, he's given Vaughn a bit more of a backbone over the years; made him less likely to take someone's shit without a fuss.

He met Yvette shortly after his fifteenth birthday, passed out on the side of the road from hunger, and after feeding her up for a few days she’d clung to him as a source for free meals and been a constant staple in his life ever since. She’s thrown him under the bus more times than he can count, but she always turns around and saves him before it goes too far. Mostly it’s just her way of getting money, and he’s fine with that, nowadays. Vaughn doesn't like it, but he knows it’s simply how Yvette is, so he helps her save Rhys when he can. She seems just like any other human, but Rhys still holds his suspicions about her. She’s taught them how to be warier at least, so now they’re less likely to get stabbed in the back.

Athena is a quiet, reserved woman, compared to her fiancee, Janey. Rhys has learned that they’re a package deal, and Janey is the only person who Athena will let her guard down around. For an Aasimar, Athena is practically putty in Janey’s hands and apparently Janey herself had forsaken her own elven tribe to be with the woman she loved. He doesn’t know much else about them beyond that, and he has a feeling that it’s a good thing he never pries.

Moxxi is an easy enough person to find, if you know what Caravan to look for, and she’s a sort of friend to him. He’d stumbled upon her bar during a rainstorm, slipping onto a barstool and curling up to try and conserve his own warmth. She was the first YaunTi he’d ever met, and her reptilian features had drawn his eye almost immediately. His own curiosity about her race had been innocent enough, yet he didn’t blame her for being suspicious of his intentions when he asked her about it. Moxxi must have seen something in his expression, because she’d led him to a back room (he’d been unsure about following here, overhearing conversations about the type of woman she was and he didn’t really fancy being hit on) where she’d sat him down, popped open a drink or two and simply _talked._

If there was a chance that he’d bring trouble to her door then she had no problem feigning ignorance to his existence, but at least she wouldn’t sell him out for extra cash. Slightly better than Yvette in that regard.

Zer0 had saved Rhys’ life more times than he can count over the years, and they describe themselves as more of an ‘arcane construct’ than any known race. Their clothes cover them entirely, and the only part of Zer0 that Rhys has ever seen were their greyish, shining eyes, so he can't make any judgements about their choice. Zer0 isn’t a friend, exactly, but they like Rhys all the same and Rhys himself has been crushing on them ever since they first met. It’s obvious that Zer0 knows about his crush, and they enjoy teasing him about it. Rhys doesn't mind it all that much, especially if it means getting small waves and praises when Zer0 sees him.

Timothy is a half-elf that Rhys had met in college, and they'd quickly bonded over the agony of student loans and crushing expectations. It hadn't been much of a surprise when Timothy began doing dangerous work to pay off the debts, nor had it been a surprise when Rhys dropped out of college and became a self-taught wizard.

Timothy made a few friends that Rhys is more than a little afraid of; a Goliath called Wilhelm who could crush him with his pinky, probably, and tended to stand silent and stoic until he demanded your attention with his low voice, and Nisha, a Genasi who wielded two guns and teased like the worst of them, knocking back her drinks like they were water and grinning with a sharks intensity.

Sasha and Fiona were sisters, a pair of Tabaxi, who’d robbed him blind on more than one occasion but were, despite it all, fairly honest folk. Sasha always seemed to have a new boyfriend every week, and Fiona was too busy fawning over Yvette to notice the folks who’d fight for her attention.

They all made for strange company to be sure and yet...

They all paled in comparison to one Handsome Jack Lawrence. Timothy’s older brother, apparently, but Rhys doesn't know if that's through blood or simple association.

Jack, a Tiefling with black skin and curling, pierced, bejeweled horns and a tattoo on his wrist. Jack, who wears ostentatious, almost pirate-like clothing and wears the v-shaped scar on his face like a war prize.

Jack, who's currently sitting at Rhys’ kitchen table, gesturing wide as he talks, teeth sharp and predatory as his eyes glint in the low light of a makeshift lamp in the corner. He’s so self-absorbed that it’s borderline incomprehensible, yet he still manages to ooze charisma and seduction like it’s a second skin and Rhys doesn't know how they got this close but Jack is endearing even when he shouldn't be.

Rhys hasn't met a lot of Tieflings, but he knows enough to pick up that Jack is far from normal by anyone's standards.

He knows that Tieflings deal with a lot of shit - both verbal and physical - and he knows that most of them will get angry quickly if someone throws insults and slurs and distrustful remarks towards them. Some Tieflings will simply hunker down and refuse eye contact, laying low to avoid causing trouble, simply taking it all in an effort to avoid anything worse. Jack does neither of these things.

Jack will look at those people dead in the eye and laugh at their insults; he’ll grin and snark and tease them, running words that twist their heads and confuse them for his own amusement. His actions are cryptic, purposefully done in a way that hints at murderous intentions without any real proof that can say it’s what he meant. Jack makes himself stand out and draw attention from everyone in a room; makes himself the centre of everyone’s focus and silently goads people into a fight, never throwing the first punch so he can claim self-defense in trial.

Jack can talk about himself for hours and whether everything he says is true or not is anyone’s guess, these days, but he’s definitely the strangest man that Rhys has ever met.

“Care to share your thoughts with the class?” Jack’s amused voice cuts him out of his musings, the Tiefling leaning across the table with his head resting on his hands, tail flicking lazily behind him.

Rhys huff's, rolling his eyes. “Just wondering what it will take to get some decent sleep for once.”

Jack’s grin is sharp and teasing, eyebrows waggling almost immediately. Rhys sighs with a smile, getting up to leave the room before Jack has a chance to make a sexual remark, and he ignores the way Jack crows after him, leaning back precariously in his chair just because he can.

He follows Rhys into the bedroom, chuckling when Rhys grabs his hand and pulls him down onto the bed, silencing his teasing with a biting kiss before he helps remove the jewellery on Jack’s horns. “I’m tired,” Rhy mumbles, “so you either sleep here or leave. Your choice.”

“You already know what I’ll choose,” he purrs, laying down on his side to tuck Rhys under his chin, clawed hands pressing against Rhys’ back as his tail winds its way around Rhys’ leg, pinning him into place.

“Mm,” Rhys hums, yawning with a mumbled, “night Handsome.”

He doesn't quite know what his relationship with Jack is, but he’ll deal with those thoughts in the morning. Preferably after a good cup of coffee and maybe some more kissing while Jack is in an agreeable mood.


End file.
